Margie Lodes

Undergraduate Fellow

“I’m on the ecological restoration team. So far we’ve mostly been researching, going through papers, all that fun stuff. But as the summer has gone on, we have finally gotten to start some field research. We obviously can’t do anything at Tyson, which is really sad. But the undergrads have figured out ways to do research outside the labs like at Shaw Nature Reserve or Forest Park where we’re not really in contact with anyone. It’s easier to do when you have an ecological restoration team because ecological restoration can be anywhere.

And what is your independent project?

I’m looking at how pollinators are doing in urban gardens versus rural restoration areas. I’m trying to see how these two different places affect their populations and the types of pollinators that show up. I’m essentially trying to see how healthy these ecosystems are.

Everybody needs bees and all pollinators because we need to eat. Lately habitats have been fragmented into smaller and smaller pieces, which has caused these populations to become more and more stressed. The more niche species have begun to do less because we need them to pollinate our crops and flowers to keep our ecosystems functioning healthily. It’s important to know if these urban gardens are healthy because they can connect these fragmented habitats to make the movement of pollinators a lot easier.

What is your relationship with your PI (Rachel Becknell) been like?

“I’ve worked with Rachel before. I was on the Natural Enemies team last year, which she was also on, so I love Rachel. She’s been really good to us this year. She knows it’s been a little rough because we can’t see each other face to face and we don’t really have a lab. She always has stuff for us to do. And she’s made it feel like it’s summer at Tyson, even though we’re away.”

Margie is an alum of the SIFT and TERA programs and worked with Rachel Becknell’s Ecological Restoration team during summer 2020. Learn more about the plans for their research into prairie restoration here.